Family asks cops to check on 74-year-old vet after surgery, and they break in and kill him.

State officials in North Carolina have launched an investigation after a police officer in Gastonia shot and killed a 74-year-old man while performing a welfare check. Gastonia police Chief Robert Helton explained at a press conference on Sunday that a family member had asked officers to check on James Howard Allen on Saturday afternoon, The Charlotte Observer reported. Helton said that Allen’s family had asked for the welfare check because the 74-year-old veteran had recently undergone surgery. An officer first visited Allen’s home at 10:20 p.m. on Saturday, but there was no answer. Gastonia police then contacted the Gastonia Fire Department and Gaston Emergency Medical Services at 11:30 p.m. and a “decision was made to enter the house, concerned that he may be inside in need of emergency assistance,” Helton said